Coke quenching car alignment indicating system

ABSTRACT

Baffles disposed transversely of a coke quenching car and one end wall have apertures therein that are of different geometric shapes and are progressively larger in size toward said locomotive. Hot coke falling into compartments formed by the baffles illuminates the apertures so that the operator recognizes into which compartment the coke is falling.

United States Patent 1191 McClelland Dec. 3, 1974 [54] COKE QUENCHINGCAR ALIGNMENT 2,718,493 9/1955 Lawler 203/DlG. 22 3,139,391 6/1964Walker 203/1310. 22 INDICATING SYSTEM 3,788,236 l/l974 Edgar et al.202/227 [75] Inventor: Ronald O. McClelland, Pittsburgh,

[73] Assignee: Koppers Company, Inc., Pittsburgh, Primary Examiner-A.Louis Monacell Pa. Assistant ExaminerD. Sanders Attorney, Agent, orFirm-Sherman H. Barber; Olin E. [22] Flled' Jmy 1973 Williams; Oscar B.Brumback [21] Appl. No.: 382,161

[52] US. Cl 202/227, 104/1 R, 105/254, [57] ABSTRACT 202/262, 214/41Baffles disposed transversely of acoke quenching car [51] Int. Cl C10!)39/14, B6lb 3/00 and one end wall have apertures therein that are ofField Of Search different geometric shapes and are progressively larger104/1 R; 105/1 R, 254; 14/23, 18 in size toward said locomotive. Hotcoke falling into O3/DIG'. 22 compartments formed by the bafflesilluminates the apertures so that the operator recognizes into which[56] References Cited compartment the coke is falling.

' UNITED STATES PATENTS 6 l 3 D 0 F 1,831,121 11/1931 Kermer 203/010. 22C rawmg gums PATENTED BEE 31974 COKE QUENCI-IING CAR ALIGNMENTINDICATING SYSTEM BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION BRIEF DESCRIPTION OFTHE DRAWING In the drawing:

FIG. 1 is a schematic perspective view of a coke quenching car thatincorporates an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a view along the line of sight indicated in FIG. 1 beforepushing of coke commences; and 1 FIG. 3 is a view along the line ofsight of FIG. 1 during one stage of pushing.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION In order to control the emission of smoke and dustto the atmosphere during the pushing of hot, incandescent coke from acoke oven chamber, there has been developed apparatus for collecting andremoving effluent emitted while pushing coke, as described in co-pendingapplication Ser. No. 170,926, filed Aug. 11, 1971.

Such apparatus includes a hood mounted to a coke guide car andhorizontal covers and an adjustable pair of curtains that are mounted tothe hood to cover compartments formed by baffles in the quenching carand thereby prevent the emission of smoke and dust during pushing.

Because the covers and the hood prevent visual inspection of the coke asit is being pushed, there is a need for some means to indicate when thecompartments of the coke quenching car are full. The quenching carlocomotive operator will then know how fast or how slow to move thequenching car to insure uniform coke distribution therein.

Referring to FIG. 1, there is shown a schematic arrangement of aquenching car 11 connected to a locomotive 13 wherein there is anoperator who controls the locomotive l3 and car 11 manually by means ofcontroller 15.

The quenching car 11 is shown in position for receiving hot incandescentcoke falling through a hood 17. I I

The hood 17 has horizontal covers 19, 21 and curtains 23 like thosedescribed in the aforementioned application.

The car 11 has three internal baffles 25, 27, 29 and end walls 31, 33,that divide the car interior into four coke compartments numbered 1, 2,3, 4. The baffle 25 has in it a triangular opening 35; the baffle 27 hasin it a circular opening 37; the baffle 29 has a hexagonal opening 39;and the end wall 33 has a rectangular opening 41.

The several openings 35, 37, 39, 41, as shown, have regular geometricforms, and they are disposed along a line of sight 43 that the operatorwould observe as he looks through a window 45 in the front end of thelocomotive 13. The rectangular opening 41 is the largest opening; thehexogonal opening 39 is smaller than the rectangular opening 41, but islarger than the circular opening 37 which is larger than the triangularopening 35. Hence, before pushing commences, the operator looking alongline of sight 43 and sees the several opening shapes as shown in FIG. 2.They would appear as dark images.

Now, when pushing commences, the operator will observe a red triangularshape, indicating that hot, incandescent coke is falling intocompartment No l. The operator waits approximately 5-IO seconds to allowcompartment No. 1 to fill and then he actuates the controller 15 to movethe locomotive l3 and car 11 in the direction of the arrow A.

When the illuminated red triangle changes to an illu minated circle, assuggested in FIG. 3, the operator knows that the hot incandescent cokeis falling into compartment No. 2. He then continues to move the car andobserves that the illuminated circle changes to a hexagon as cokefallsinto compartment No. 3 and the illuminated hexagon changes to anilluminated rectangle when coke begins to fall into compartment No. 4.

From the foregoing description of one embodiment of the invention, thoseskilled in the art should recognize many important features andadvantages of it, among which the following are particularlysignificant:

That the invention is simple and involves a minimum first cost toinstall in a coke quenching car;

That there are no maintenance expenses in using the invention; and thatthere are no training expenses for an operator of the quench carlocomotive. A simple diagram of the several goemetric figures, displayedon the locomotive window and numbered to correspond with thecompartments.

Although the invention has been described herein with a certain degreeof particularity it is understood that the present disclosure has beenmade only as an example and that the scope of the invention is definedby what is hereinafter claimed.

What is claimed is:

1. In a coke quenching car having end and side walls connected endwiseto a locomotive having an operator therein, the improvement comprising:

a. at least one transverse baffle subdividing said car into twocoke-receiving compartments said baffle having an aperture disposedalong a line of sight observed by said operator; with b. the end wall ofsaid car adjacent said locomotive having therein an aperture that islarger than the aperture in said baffle and that is disposed along saidline of sight. I

2. The invention of claim 1 wherein:

a. said aperture in said baffle has a regular goemetric form.

3. The invention of claim 1 wherein:

a. said aperture in said baffle has a regular geometric form; and

b. said aperture in said end wall has a regular geometric form that islarger and different from the aperture in said baffle.

4. The invention of claim 1 wherein:

a. said quenching car has a plurality of baffles having in each bafflean aperture along said line of sight,

baffle and disposed along said line of sight.

6. In a coke quenching car having end and side walls. adapted formovement by a locomotive actuated by an operator therein, theimprovement comprising:

a. a plurality of baffles transversely disposed in said quenching car,each said baffle and the end wall of said car nearest said locomotivehaving an aperture of regular geometric shape disposed along a line ofsight observed by the operator, said apertures increasinglyprogressively in size toward said locomotive.

1. In a coke quenching car having end and side walls connected endwise to a locomotive having an operator therein, the improvement comprising: a. at least one transverse baffle subdividing said car into two coke-receiving compartments said baffle having an aperture disposed along a line of sight observed by said operator; with b. the end wall of said car adjacent said locomotive having therein an aperture that is larger than the aperture in said baffle and that is disposed along said line of sight.
 2. The invention of claim 1 wherein: a. said aperture in said baffle has a regular goemetric form.
 3. The invention of claim 1 wherein: a. said aperture in said baffle has a regular geometric form; and b. said aperture in said end wall has a regular geometric form that is larger and different from the aperture in said baffle.
 4. The invention of claim 1 wherein: a. said quenching car has a plurality of baffles having in each baffle an aperture along said line of sight, with said apertures increasing progressively in size in the direction toward the locomotive.
 5. In a coke quenching car having end and side walls connected endwise to a locomotive having an operator therein, the improvement comprising: a. at least one transverse baffle subdividing said car into two coke-receiving compartments; b. said baffle having an aperture of regular geometric form disposed along a line of sight observed by said operator; c. the end wall of said car adjacent said locomotive having therein an aperture of regular geometric form, but larger in size than the aperture in said baffle and disposed along said line of sight.
 6. In a coke quenching car having end and side walls, adapted for movement by a locomotive actuated by an operator therein, the improvement comprising: a. a plurality of baffles transversely disposed in said quenching car, each said baffle and the end wall of said car nearest said locomotiVe having an aperture of regular geometric shape disposed along a line of sight observed by the operator, said apertures increasingly progressively in size toward said locomotive. 